Work positioning means



Feb. 28, 1933. A F PYM 1,899,057

WORK POS ITIONING MEANS Filed Nov; 1928 70 Fig: 5

//Vl ENTUR- Patented Feb. 28, 1933 UNETEB fiTATES PATENT OFF'ECE ARTHURF. PYM, OF SV/AIVIPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOI'L TO UNITED SHOE MA-CHINERY CORPORATION, OF EATER-SON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY WORK POSITIONING MEANS Application filed November 2,- 1928.

This invention relates to work-positioning means for use in themanufacture of shoes and is herein illustrated, in one aspect, asembodied in a device adapted to be detachably applied to a last for usein the manufacture of turn shoes to insure proper positioning of theshank pieces in the shoes.

The sole of a turn shoe is usually reinforced at the heel and shankportions by a combined heel pad and shank stiffener, commonly known as aturn shank piece, consisting of a filler member of leather or fibershaped to fit the inside contour of the heel and shank portions of theshoe, and a metallic stifiener strip which is secured to the under sideof the filler member. In accordance with the usual practice the turnshank piece is placed within the shoe after the shoe has been turned andwhile the shoe is on the second last and it is desirable for variousreasons properly to 10- cats the shank piece relatively to the shoe andto hold the shank piece against accidental displacement until it hasbeen permanently secured in place. In United States Letters Patent No.1,482,201, granted January 29, 1924, on application of the presentinventor, there is disclosed a last for use in turn shoe making havingspecial fittings adapted to function when the last is used as a secondlast so to position a shank piece within a turn shoe in the process ofmanufacture and to hold the shank piece in place during the heel-seatlasting operation. The special fittings just referred to comprise twopins permanently associated with the last and arranged to pro ject abovethe bottom of the heel portion of the ast to enter two holes formed in aturn shank piece, the pins being depressible below the surface of thelast bottom so as not to interfere with the use of the last as a firstlast when occasion may require.

One object of the present invention is to provide simplified and lessexpensive means for fitting a last to insure proper positioning andholding of a shank piece when the last is erial No. 316,846.

used as a second last in the manufacture of turn shoes, while stillpermitting the last to be used as a first last whenever desired.

With this object in View, one feature of the present invention consists.in the provision of a device for use in positioning a shoe part on alast which, as herein shown, comprises a thin narrow strip adapted toextend crosswise of a last between the last bottom and a shank piece,said strip having at one side a 5 pair of pins spaced lengthwise of thestrip for entering spaced holes in the bottom of the last and having apair of pins spaced lengthwise of the strip at the opposite side thereoffor entering spaced holes in the shank piece, thereby to position theshank piece in adesired lengthwise, lateral and angular relation to thelast. Preferably, in order that the device may be temporarily retainedin operative position on a last, the strip bearing the pins is made ofspring metal and is so shaped as to enable the pins which enter theholes in the last to be cramped in the holes and thus frictionally heldtherein.

The invention will now be more particularly described by reference tothe accompanying drawing and thereafter defined in the claims.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a last with a turn shankpiece positioned and held in place thereon by the use of meansconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-IT of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the shank piece positioning devicedetached;

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the shank piece positioning device inside elevation together with a portion of a last in section andillustrating the manner of applying the device to the last; and

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken along the line VV of Fig. 4.

Referring to the drawing, a last A is pro- 90 vided with two holes 10(Fig. 2) formed in metal bushings 12 inserted in the heel portion of thelast bottom. A turn shank piece B (Fig. 1) consisting of a combined heelBad and filler piece (1, and a metallic strip is provided wit-h twoholes 14 which extend through the heel portion of the filler piece. Theholes 10 in the last are spaced apart widthwise of the last while theholes 14 in the shank piece are spaced apart a corresponding distancewidthwise of the shank piece and are arranged to be coaxially alinedwith the holes in the last when the shank piece is properly positionedon the last.

The device herein shown for positioning the shank piece on the lastconsists of a thin, longitudinally curved strip 16 of spring metalprovided with two pins or projections 18 upon one side of the strip forentering the holes 10 in the last, and with two pins or projections 20upon the opposite side of the strip for entering the holes 14 in theshank piece. As shown, the pins 18 are located respectively near theopposite ends of the strip 16 and the holes 10 are spaced aparttransversely of the last bottom so that the axis of curvature of thestrip will extend in the direction of the axis of transverse curvatureof the last bottom. Moreover, the pins 18 extend at right angles to thesurface of the strip while, to facilitate convenience in manufacture,the pins 20 are coaxially alined with the pins 18. Each of the pins 18and 20 is formed with a rounded free extremity for facilitating theentrance of the pin into its respective hole in the last or in the shankpiece. As best shown in Fig. 4, the strip 16 is curved or archedlengthwise to such an extent that when the shank piece positioningdevice is detached from the last the radius of curvature of the strip issomewhat shorter than the radius of transverse curvature of the portionof the last bottom to which the strip is to be applied. The pins orprojections 18 are so arranged relatively to each other on the strip 16that when the pins are introduced into the holes 10 in the last thestrip 16 will be straightened somewhat, causing the resiliency of thestrip to cramp or bind the pins against the inner sides of the holes 10in the last thus, in effect, clutching or gripping the last so that theshank piece positioning device is firmly held in place thereon. Thuswhen the shank piece positioning device is secured in place on a lastthe strip will conform to the transverse curvature of the last bottom sothat it will such as the shank piece B is placed on the last over thepositioning device with the holes 14 in the shank piece receiving thepins 20 on the positioning device. The pins 20 serve to locate the shankpiece on the last, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the shank piece will beproperl located in a shoe which is subs uently to lie placed on thelast. As shown in ig. 2, the pins 20 are somewhat inclined outwardlrelatively to each other, even after the sha piece positioning devicehas been applied to the last, and the arrangement is such that when themore or less resilient shank piece is laid over the pins and presseddown against the last bottom the pins will bind in the holes in theshank piece. Thus, the pins serve not only to position the shank piecebut temporarily to hold it securely in place relatively to the last.Thereafter when a shoe, which has previously been turned, is placed uponthe last the shank piece will be properly positioned within the shoe andheld in place until it has been secured to the shoe. The length of thepins 20 is such that the pins will not interfere with the assembling ofthe shank piece and the sole of the shoe in contiguous relation. Thepositioning device serves effectively to hold a turn shank piece againstedgewise dis lacement such as mi ht otherwise occur during the heel-seatlastm operation. After the heel seat of the shoe has been lasted and theupper materials secured to the shank piece, the last may be withdrawnfrom the shoe and the shank iece positioning device will be withdrawnwit the last inasmuch as the pins 18 are cramped in the holes in thelast with sufiicient force to overcome the frictional hold between thepins 20 and the shank piece. vice may be left in place on the last i thelast is again to be used as a second last. When, however, it is desiredto remove the device, as for example when the last is to be used as afirst last, the removal of the device from the last may be convenientlyaccomplished by inserting a suitable tool between the last and the strip16 and prying the latter up until the pins 18 are withdrawn from theholes 10.

It will be noted that the pins 18 on the positioning deviceand the holes10 in the last constitute interenga ing fastening devices for detachablysecuring the positioning device to the last, and that the pins 20 on thepositioning device and the holes 14 in the shank piece constituteinterengageable fastening devices for detachably securing the shankpiece in predetermined relation to the positioning device and the last.When the positioning device is detached from the last there are nospecial fittings on the last except the bushings 12 containing the holes10 and these bushings and holes do not in any way interfere with the useof the last as a first last i in turn shoe making or as an ordinary lastfor use in the manufacture of other types of shoes.

While the pins 20 on the shank iece positioning device have been hereinshown and The positionin dedescribed as being coaxially alined with thepins 18 it is to be understood that this particular arrangement of thepins is by no means essential inasmuch as the pins 20 may be arranged inany convenient positions, it being necessary only that the holes in theshank piece e arranged to register with the pins 20 and that the holesin the shank piece be further arranged so that when registering Withthese pins the shank piece will be properly positioned relatively to thelast. Moreover, it is not intend-ed, by the application of the word pinsto the parts 18 and 20, to limit the shape or construction of theseparts since they may be projections of any suitable form orconstruction.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A work positioning device comprising a member having a plurality ofpositioning projections upon one side thereof for entering holes in apiece of work to position the work in a definite angular relation to thedevice, and a plurality of positioning projections upon the other sideof the device to enter holes in a last, said holes being spacedwidthwise of the last to position the device lengthwise across the widthof the last.

2. Means for positioning a shank piece on a last comprising a strip ofsheet material adapted to be applied over the bottom face of a last,said strip having on one side thereof a pair of pins arranged to bereceived in holes in the last bottom to position said strip relativelyto the last, and said strip having on its opposite side also a secondpair of pins severally disposed in coaxial relation to the pins of thefirst pair and arranged to be re ceived in holes in a shank piece toposition the shank piece relatively to said strip and the last.

3. Means for positioning a shank pieceon a last comprising a resilientmember of such dimensions as to adapt it to be positioned lengthwise intransverse relation to the bottom of the heel portion of a last andhaving at each end portion thereof a projection constructed and arrangedto be received in a hole in the bottom of a last, said member being soformed as to act by its resiliency to cramp the projections in the holesin the last and having also means constructed and arranged detachably tointer-engage with means on a shank piece to position the shank piecerelatively to said member.

l. Means for positioning a shank piece on a last comprising resilientsheet metal mem ber of such dimensions as to adapt it to be positionedlengthwise in transverse relation to the bottom of the heel portion of alast, said member having at each end portion of one side thereof a pinarranged to be received in a hole in the last bottom and being so formedas to act by its resiliency to cramp the pins in the holes in the last,said member having also a pin at each end of its opposite side ar rangedto be received in a hole in a shank piece to position the shank piecerelatively to said member.

5. Means for positioning a shank piece on a last comprising a memberadapted to be applied to the bottom of a last, said member having aplurality of projections arranged to be received in holes in the lastbottom to position said member relatively to the last, and said memberhaving also a plurality of projections arranged to be received in holesin a shank piece to position the shank piece relatively to said memberand the last, said last-named projections being inclined relatively toeach other to cause them to bind in the holes in the shank piecesecurely to hold the shank piece in place.

6. Means for positioning a shank piece in a shoe comprising a last, amember having positioning devices thereon adapted to engage and locate ashank piece to be applied to a shoe on the last, and interengagingfastening devices on the last and on said member, said devices beingspaced Widthvvise of the last for detachably securing said member to thelast in predetermined relation thereto.

7. Means for positioning a shank piece in a shoe comprising a lasthaving holes spaced widthwise of the last in the bottom of its heelportion, and a strip provided with means adapted to have holdingengagement with a shank piece to be applied to a shoe on the last, saidstrip having locating pins in its opposite ends for entering said holesin the last to locate said strip on the last.

8. Means for positioning a shank piece in a shoe comprising a last, a.strip adapted to be located between the last and the shank piece,interengageable devices on the last and on said strip spaced lengthwiseof the strip and Widthwise of the last for securing said strip to thelast in predetermined relation thereto, and a plurality of locating pinson said strip adapted to enter holes formed in predetermined locationsin the shank piece to position the shank piece relatively to the last.

9. Means for positioning a shank piece in a shoe comprising a lasthaving a plurality of holes in the last bottom spaced apart crosswise ofthe last and arranged in predetermined relation to the edge of the lastbottom,

a member adapted to be located between the last and the shank piece, aplurality of pins on one side of said member adapted to be receivedWithin said holes in the last to locate said member relatively to thelast, and a plurality of pins on the other side of said member adaptedto be received in holes formed in predetermined positions in the shankpiece to locate the shank piece relatively to said member and to thelast.

10. A device for positioning shank pieces on lasts comprising a thinnarrow strip ada ted to extend crosswise of a last between the astbottom and a shank piece, said stri having at one side a pair of pinsspace (55 lengthwise of the stri for entering spaced holes in the bottom0 the last and having, at the opposite side thereof, a pair of pinsspaced lengthwise of the strip for entering spaced holes in the shankpiece, thereby to 7 1 position the shank piece in a desired lengthwise,lateral and angular relation to the last. In testimony whereof I havesigned my name to this specification.

ARTHUR F. PYM. f 15

